Most Royal Enfield fans take their bikes seriously and it’s unlikely that they will be tempted to switch to some other product
So, how would they react if asked to ride the newly launched Honda H’ness CB350 and share their feedback? Will they share some good words about CB350 or just reject it outright? Well, this is exactly what YouTube vlogger Abhinav Bhatt has tried to find out.
For this job, Abhinav chose his friend Srinivas Ganesh, who has been using Royal Enfield motorcycles since several years. Srini started out with Royal Enfield Classic 350 and currently rides Interceptor 650. In between, he had also owned a Harley Davidson Fat Boy.
For a more realistic comparison and feedback, Abhinav asked Srini to ride CB350 for around 40 km in both city traffic and highway. Below is the video that has all the details about what a Royal Enfield user thinks about Honda CB350.
Interceptor 650 owner’s feedback on Honda CB350
Similar to positive opinions that many people have expressed about CB350, Srini also has a lot of good things to say about Honda’s rival to Classic 350 and upcoming Meteor 350. Starting with the ride quality, CB350 comes across as a nice, comfortable bike with close to zero vibrations. This is when the riding speed is around 70-80 kmph. CB350 performed well in both city traffic and highways, although acceleration was on the lower side in comparison to Interceptor 650.
However, this was expected as Interceptor comes from a higher segment and is especially designed for racing. On the other hand, CB350 is built for comfortable cruising at around 80-90 kmph. According to Srini, CB350’s seat is at intermediate level, neither too soft, nor too hard. This could be good for long distance touring.
Among the things that Srini liked about CB350 is its sweet thumping exhaust note. This also matches general perceptions, where many people have felt that CB350 exhaust note is more refined as compared to that of Classic 350.
In terms of looks, Interceptor 650 is clearly the more attractive. CB350 is an elegant looking bike, but it does not have the sporty, bad-boy character like Interceptor. This again is understandable, as these motorcycles belong to different segments. Another interesting thing to note is that CB350 comes with metal fenders, whereas the ones on Interceptor are probably made from composite material.
Which one to choose in Rs 3 lakh budget
While CB350 and Interceptor 650 are not direct rivals, people with a budget of around Rs 3 lakh can still be thinking about both options. The question that will confront them is why not upgrade to a higher capacity bike by investing Rs 80k more. Honda CB 350 has an on road price of Rs 2.18 lakh while RE 650 is priced at about Rs 3 lakhs. Such a scenario seems quite possible.
